Over the years, Ford's Courier moniker has adorned a number of disparate vehicles, all with similar intents made obvious by their name. Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe '80 Courier's intent is purposefully murky, but is its price too much for this Courier to carry?

The old joke goes what do you call couples who practice the rhythm method of birth control? Parents! In contrast, the 89% Crack Pipe loss for yesterday's 1983 Fiat Ritmo (rhythm) proved that, at nearly twenty four grand, it wasn't going to be anybody's bundle of joy. That was despite its almost new-born appearance, and having one parent being named Carlos Abarth.

Ritmo in Italian means rhythm or beat. In any language, Abarth means fast. Put them together and…
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Names are important. From names we may more easily derive purpose and hence lessen confusion. Blenders blend, drills drill, and cornholers make you walk funny. In the automotive world literalism is sometimes a value, especially when your target market is mostly institutional. That's likely how Ford came up with the name for their Fairlane-based Courier sedan delivery back in the fifties.

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When time came for Ford to enter the nascent mini truck market late in the sixties, they did so by borrowing a pickup from their Japanese cousin Mazda, and pressing that Courier moniker back into duty. That little truck went through two iterations here in the U.S., eventually being replaced by the locally sourced Ranger - a truck which also adopted a family name, that of a trim package from the larger F-series. Ford still maintains the rights to the Courier name, having used it for a while in Europe on a Fiesta-based delivery van, and presently on a small pickup built in that land of thongs and pork swords, Brazil.

Today's 1980 custom Courier is one with which we in the U.S. are probbaly most familiar, but while this truck was orginally designed to haul, what's been slotted under its subtly flamed hood will let it additionally haul ass. That's a Turbo 2.3 muscularly filling the space between the wheel wells, an engine that is claimed to have been pulled from an ‘88 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. The puffed-up Pinto powerer put out 155-bhp in non-intercooled form, and 190-205 ponies when that piece of the intake machinery was in place. This one is claimed to have a custom jobber on it - which looks like a water-to-air intercooler - so I'd expect this Courier's stable to be pretty full.

Behind the Lima lion is a 5-speed stick and the builder has managed to wedge the motor into the truck and still keep functional A/C. High five for that right there. This being one of the import trucks, that A/C is handled through an add-on under-dash vent plenum, but it still looks fairly unobtrusive.

The rest of the interior is described as custom, something that usually means it has been swaddled in the builder's peyote-infused singular vision of something like swastika pattern faux alligator hide. Here that's thankfully not the case, and while it has gauges galore and a kind of nondescript steering wheel, it still sports a bench seat so your honey can snuggle right up close.

The exterior is equally subdued sporting a buttercup finish over which has been painted some of the least obtrusive flames you're ever likely to see. A bed cap and full stock bumpers lend to the the truck's image ass a sleeper. The ad claims that the truck is a recent car show trophy winner, and more importantly, that it manages to pass the onerous California smog test, which deserves yet another high five.

I'm going to say right off the bat that if this truck drives half as nice as it presents then this'll be one sweet ride. Of course, quality costs, and in the case of this Courier carrying you, you'll need yourself to be carrying $4,995. What do you think, is that a price that should let someone get carried away by this custom Courier? Or, is that too much of a burden for this little truck's buyer to bear?